Draft genome sequences from 127 Legionella spp. strains isolated in water systems linked to legionellosis outbreaks

ABSTRACT Legionnaires' disease is a severe form of pneumonia caused by Legionella spp. bacteria. According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, problems related to this pathogen showed a significant surge in recent years, making its monitoring critical.

A ccording to the latest report from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Europe suffered the highest annual Legionnaires' disease notifica tion rate to date (1), and climate change may play a role in its spread in the coming years (2).However, cases are rarely cultureconfirmed, potentially leading to misinterpretations of pathogen diffusion dynamics and underestimations of Legionnaires' disease cases caused by Legionella species other than Legionella pneumophila (1).
In light of these considerations, to further our understanding of the spread of this pathogen in the Italian region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, 127 Legionella spp.strains were sequenced, both to confirm the species and to analyze their genetic traits.These strains were isolated as part of national surveillance plans conducted between 2005 and 2017 by the Regional Agency for the Protection of the Environment of Friuli Venezia Giulia (ARPA FVG), from tap water of different types of buildings identified as sources of legionellosis outbreaks, with sampling and analysis protocols carried out in accordance with Italian (3) and international directives (4).
Isolates were cultured on Buffered Charcoal Yeast Extract Agar (BCYEA) supplemen ted with Legionella BCYE Growth Supplement with and without cysteine (Biolife, Italy).Presumptive positive colonies were further confirmed by qualitative real-time PCR using the IQ-Check screen L. pneumophila Kit (Bio-Rad, Italy) and serologically identified using Legionella rapid latex test Kit (Biolife, Italy) monovalent antisera (5).

TABLE 1
Statistics of assembled genomes

TABLE 1
Statistics of assembled genomes (Continued)

TABLE 1
Statistics of assembled genomes (Continued)

TABLE 1
Statistics of assembled genomes (Continued)